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Cheese Fondue

Cheese fondue is best in a ceramic fondue pot. A ceramic pot will diffuse heat evenly and prevent the fondue from being burned.

If your cheese fondue calls for wine, as most do, don*t use a cheap cooking wine. A moderately priced Sauvignon Blanc will produce the best tasting fondue.

No matter the recipe, some good dipping ingredients for cheese fondue are: Chunks of French bread, chicken, ham, broccoli florets, small red potatoes and asparagus spears.

Do yourself a favor and don*t use pre-made fondue mixes like the ones you can buy at your local supermarket. They contain inferior ingredients and always stink up the house. They also don*t taste anything like a delicious, freshly prepared fondue.

Chocolate Fondue

If you want some extra flavor in your chocolate fondue, add a flavored liquor such as Grand Marnier.

Dry off any dipping ingredients, otherwise it may affect the texture of your chocolate fondue.

Meat Fondue

Meat fondue requires a metal fondue pot for heating the oil. Usually an electric fondue set will work best.

Try to have a variety of dipping sauces for dunking the meat in after it is cooked. This will really liven up your meal, and make meat fondue a lot more fun.

Popular oils for meat fondue are vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, canola, grapeseed, and peanut oil. Grapeseed and peanut oil are the highest quality oils. They are also the most expensive.

Oil should be heated to just below the boiling point (375 degrees Farenheit). A deep-frying thermometer is a handy tool for helping to determine the temperature.

Unlike dessert and cheese fondue, you will want to have some plates and silverwear for use with meat fondue. This is because meat fondue needs time to cool after you remove it from the hot oil. Simply remove from the oil, remove the meat from your fondue fork with a regular fork, let it cool, dunk it in sauce and enjoy!

Fondue Safety

Keep a kitchen fire extinguisher in the house if you are going to be using a fondue pot with an open flame. Most of these pots have a fuel lid that can kill the flame, but it never hurts to be safe.

Keep the fondue set on flat, heat-resistant surface.

Keep the set in the center of the table. Don*t let it get near the edge, where it could possibly get knocked over.

Fondue Etiquette

After you dunk into the fondue pot, hold your dipper over the pot for a bit. This will give it time to cool and will also allow the excess cheese to drain off so it doesn*t get everywhere.

Be careful to not touch the fondue fork with your lips, tongue, or teeth. It does go back in the pot, after all.

Don*t double dip and don*t dip into the pot with your fingers.

You can have some fun with fondue traditions if you like. Traditionally, if a man loses his food in the pot he has to buy a round of drinks. If a woman loses her food in the pot, she has to kiss the person next to her.